


Lips Like Candy

by davecabbage



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Chuck is bad at the whole romance thing, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Tendo is a little shit, but he tries dammit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 06:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3347516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/davecabbage/pseuds/davecabbage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raleigh has a sweet tooth and Chuck has noticed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lips Like Candy

**Author's Note:**

> So somehow I ended up writing this gross Valentine's Day fic. I honestly didn't see this coming at all, but hey I was struck by a rare bout of inspiration AND motivation to write and pretty much got the first draft done in a day so I'll take what I can get.  
> This is really fluffy and gross.

If someone had told a teenage Chuck Hansen that he would be spending a romantic evening with _the_ Raleigh Becket – jaeger pilot rock star and childhood hero – he probably would have hyperventilated and shook his head in disbelief. If someone had told him the same thing a year ago he would have told them to fuck off and that he’d rather be eaten by a kaiju than see that washed up disgrace ever again, let alone have any kind of relationship with him. It was funny, and more than a little fucked up, how things changed over the years. Especially when considering that that was the exact scenario Chuck was preparing for in just a week’s time.

Getting your arse kicked and then saved by your former idol and crush along with almost dying does a lot to humble a bloke, or at least it did for Chuck. As did a long stint in recovery with his former enemies turned team mates turned friends for company.

In a world where kaiju and jaeger fights used to be a common occurrence was it really all that much of a stretch to believe? Well, yeah, it was for Chuck.

And yet there he was, racking his brain to come up with some kind of romantic gesture and failing miserably. He was a soldier for crying out loud; he never had time for this kind of shit before. His biggest worries used to be whether or not he would make it back home alive, not what kind of gift would be best to show his boyfriend that he maybe, sorta cared about his stupid arse? And maybe get him laid too while he was at it?

It was exhausting. And this was coming from someone who used to spend hours locked in combat with kaiju. What he wouldn’t trade for the simplicity of that again instead. At least back then he had known where he had stood with the big ugly bastards. But this? Romance, and love, and a relationship? This baffled him.

Chuck was way out of his depth.

He hadn’t even planned to do anything about the stupid upcoming holiday in the first place. He’d said as much when, after dropping poorly concealed hints and making not so subtle comments, Raleigh eventually flat out asked him his opinion on it. His opinion was that it was a load of shit. He couldn’t fathom why anyone would buy into that crap. It was a cop out, plain and simple. A quick fix to placate the other half and make them feel secure and good about themselves for one day before going back to half-arsing it. Not that he explained this as eloquently to Raleigh. Instead he said he wanted none of it and he damn well didn’t want Raleigh to go behind his back and plan something.

And then Raleigh had to open that goddamn mouth of his. Of course _he_ didn’t see it that way, but he couldn’t sway Chuck to his way of viewing it and they both knew it. Raleigh could have let it drop, but he didn’t. Instead he did the worst thing he could have done. He failed at hiding his disappointment – Chuck still wasn’t sure if that was on purpose or not – and just sighed in defeat and let Chuck off the hook by saying that he wasn’t expecting anything anyway.

Chuck being Chuck was the kind of kid who when told he couldn’t do anything would go ahead and do it anyway, or do the exact opposite of what he had been told to do. He can’t have a cookie before dinner? He snuck into the kitchen, climbed the cupboards and helped himself to a fistful before high tailing it to his bedroom. He can’t enlist in the jaeger academy? He enlisted as the youngest recruit in the PPDC’s history and graduated with honours. He’s not capable of being romantic? Well, he’d bloody well beat Raleigh over the head with fucking hearts and rainbows and all that shit.

Yeah, challenge fucking accepted, mate.

He’d prove Raleigh wrong; he’d show him just how bloody romantic he could be. That’d show the idiot. He wouldn’t know what hit him.

Days later all of his attempts to cook up some great idea had amounted to nothing, and with the deadline growing closer and closer Chuck had begun to realise that he was in trouble.

*

In the end Chuck devised a plan without the aid of anyone else. Although not for a lack of trying. Mako had quickly grown tired of his not so subtle attempts, beating around the bush, to extract information from her in regards to her co-pilot. She hadn’t given in and told him outright that he was smart enough to figure something out on his own. And eventually, that was exactly what he did. Not that it was an easy feat. Killing kaiju? That was a piece of cake. Dealing with not only his own feelings and needs, but someone else’s? Shit, now that was asking a lot of him.

Chuck had noticed it pretty early on if he was honest with himself, but when was he ever? Not long after Raleigh arrived actually. He hadn’t even realised he’d been watching Raleigh as much as he had, but he found himself staring – catching his movements out of the corner of his eye – and observing him. Not that he would ever admit this, of course. Raleigh Becket may have been his idol in the past, but that was a long time ago. A very long time ago.

The only interest Chuck had in the other ranger at the time was whether or not he still had it in him to pilot a jaeger and have his back on his bomb run. That was why he watched him; why he poked and prodded to get a rise out of him. They couldn’t just let a guy who walked out on them for five years to just waltz back in as if nothing happened, pick up where he left off and swoop in to save the day. Chuck hadn’t worked so hard for so long for some washed up has-been to make a mockery out of the only way of life he had known and get a whole lot of people, himself included, killed.

Chuck didn’t give a damn about the fame or glory. The so called golden days of rangers being rock stars was long gone by the time he had started piloting anyway. No, he was in this to kill kaiju and save lives; protect people from the pain they had caused him. He didn’t give a shit about Raleigh upstaging him, he was more concerned with his backup not getting him killed. Someone had to keep an eye on the loose cannon Pentecost had dumped on them. That was all.

So he watched him. He kept an eye on the former ace pilot who would be his support in Pentecost’s big plan. His eyes followed him whenever he was in the vicinity. He watched the man whose posters once lined his walls but now laid crumpled in the back of one of his drawers. Chuck never could quite find it in himself to throw away all of them. Even if they never saw the light of day again he still clung to some parts of his lost childhood; he didn’t have much left to cling onto after all. He kept tabs on the man that ran away with his tail between his legs. He kept track of the man who shattered all illusions of the infallible rangers of days past and let that once –and later again – awe inspired kid down. Okay so maybe it was a tiny bit personal. But that was all in the past and things really can change a hell of a lot in a small space of time.

Yeah, he spent a lot of time watching Becket. Before Pitfall, and even more so after. A lot more in fact, but that was a much longer story. That was how he picked up on his particular habit. Chuck’s observation had led him to discover a number of things about Raleigh – things he had filed away in his mental records of Raleigh Becket – but it was his sweet tooth that Chuck most prominently noticed. 

Raleigh would reach into his pocket and pull out a sweet and pop it into his mouth. It was a like a reflex or automatic motion that he didn’t even seem to think about. In briefings and meetings; working in the jaeger bay; or just wandering around the ‘dome.  He seemed to have an endless supply of the things.

He would absentmindedly slide one of the sweets over his lips and into his mouth and suck on it. Chuck didn’t even realise that over time he started to lick his own lips as he watched the sweet pass across Raleigh’s. When he finally caught himself doing it he felt himself flush and forced himself to look away out of shame and disgust. He was just eating sweets for fuck sake.

Who would have known it would turn into such a fixation?

When he eventually tried one of the sweets Raleigh offered him during his long stay in medical after miraculously surviving Pitfall Chuck honestly didn’t see what the fuss was all about. They were okay, but he never did have much of a sweet tooth. Come to think of it he never really developed much of a preference for anything. He ate whatever the PPDC provided for him and that was that. Chuck didn’t get to be picky over what he ate. Raleigh claimed they were his favourite from when he was a kid. Chuck couldn’t really remember his favourite snacks from before the kaiju. He didn’t really want to.

Still, it wasn’t the sweets that fascinated Chuck when he stared at the lips that sucked on them.

*

“Oi, Elvis.” The accent and nickname gave away the identity of his visitor and when Tendo looked up from his coffee he saw Chuck making a beeline for him.

“And how can I be of assistance to you today, baby Hansen?” Tendo asked countering the annoying nickname with one of this own.

“Don’t call me that.”

Tendo only raised his eyebrows and stared at him, unblinking, in response.

“Alright, point taken.” Chuck huffed and looked to the side awkwardly.

That piqued Tendo’s interest. Having been around the younger and more tiring Australian for some time now he could see that not only did he want help, but he was pretty desperate about it. Chuck was the proud type who did things for himself out of principal; he only went to others when he truly needed to. This could be interesting, Tendo thought to himself, very interesting.

Tendo cleared his throat when Chuck wasn’t forthcoming with his request. “So, what do you need from me?”

“Uhh….” Chuck kicked at the floor and mumbled the rest of his request. “Sweets.”

Tendo blinked. Well that was an odd request coming from him of all people. “Didn’t peg you for having a sweet tooth.”

“They’re…they’re not for me, okay?” Chuck retorted.

Everything was a confrontation with this kid. “Oh?”

Tendo picked up his mug and took a sip of his coffee to hide his smirk. Having also known a certain blonde for an even longer amount of time, he knew just where this was going. Although it would have been fairly obvious to anyone who had observed Chuck and the new company he kept recently just who he was referring to. “And what makes you think I’m the man to help you out here?”

Chuck grit his teeth. Choi was fucking with him, he knew it, but if he pissed him off then he might not help him. Or worse yet, he might go blabbing. “Your little trading system around the ‘dome is hardly a secret.”

The Russians may have been the ones who could get their hands on nuclear weapons just lying around – how they had done it was and would probably forever remain a mystery – but Tendo Choi was the man you went to for the important stuff. He’d made a few friends down at the harbour and starting trading with them in exchange for the stuff the PPDC wouldn’t supply. Word had somehow spread and Tendo had found himself as the middle man trading and supplying goods to the rest of the staff in the Shatterdome.

“True enough. Just call me Red.” Tendo nodded to himself. “So, it’s some sweet candy you want then Mr. Dufresne?”

Chuck just stared at him. “What?”         

“Never mind.”

Chuck huffed impatiently. “You gonna help me out or what?”

“Well that depends. ‘Sweets’ is pretty vague.” Tendo could see the gears turning in Chuck’s head and wondered how much further he could push the guy before he made him eat his own mug. Still, watching him squirm was just too much fun to worry too much about poking the bear with a stick. He shrugged. “Gotta be more specific.”

Chuck was seriously considering force feeding Choi his coffee mug, but he clenched his fists and pushed on.

“The hard ones. You know….” He had to force the next part out. “The one’s _he’s_ always sucking on.”

Tendo had to stop himself from snickering like a child at Chuck’s phrasing. He forgot just how innocent the poor guy could be sometimes. “Oohh. So they’re for _Raleigh_. Why didn’t you say so?”

Chuck could do it. He could hold him down and force the mug down his throat before anyone could stop him. Choi fucking knew who they were for.

“Yes.” Chuck spat. “They are. Now can you get me some or not?”

“I think I can swing that. Where do you think he got his supply from in the first place?” Tendo smirked at him. “When do you need them by?”

Chuck saw Choi’s not so subtle glance at the calendar sitting on his desk.

“As soon as.” Chuck replied, not rising to the bait. With that he turned and stalked out of LOCCENT before Choi could give him further reason to make good on that mental threat concerning his mug.

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, baby Hansen.” Tendo called out after him. “I’ll make sure you get your candies for your sweetheart in time for Valentine’s Day!”

Tendo had to lock the door to stop Chuck from getting back in and murdering him.

                                                                                                   *                    

“Here you go.” Tendo waltzed into the jaeger bay just under a week later and dropped a small brown paper bag on top of the tool box by Chuck. Max sniffed at the bag. “Sweets for your sweetheart. As promised.”

Chuck jumped a little and his eyes darted around the jaeger bay before settling back on Tendo. “Oh, it’s just you.”

“Lovely to see you too.” Tendo ignored his jitters; he figured the kid was just worried about his surprise getting spoiled. 

Chuck just rolled his eyes in response. “Cutting it a bit close, ain’t yah?”

“Be grateful baby Hansen. These aren’t easy to come by FYI. I can always take ‘em back. Give ‘em to someone more deserving, you know.”

“Alright, alright.” Chuck replied in defeat. “Thanks.”

“The smile on Becket Boy’s face is all the thanks I need.” Tendo grinned.

“Get out of here before I change my mind and kill you.” Chuck waved the wrench he had been using threateningly in Tendo’s direction.

“Later baby Hansen.” Tendo ruffled his hair and jumped back when Chuck made a grab for him. He chuckled to himself and jogged out of the jaeger bay before Chuck could consider going after him.

Instead, Chuck just sighed to himself and muttered under his breath. “Dickhead.”

Max looked up at him with his head tilted to the side in response.

*

The following evening rolled around and Tendo found Raleigh sitting on his own at a table in the cafeteria and poking at his food with his fork.

“Well, this is a surprise.” Tendo remarked, taking a seat opposite him. “Raleigh Becket all by his lonesome on Valentine’s night. Thought you’d be loving it up with your new squeeze by now.”

“I haven’t really seen much of Chuck today…” Raleigh paused with his fork raised and Tendo saw a look of disappointment cross his features briefly, but it was gone a second later.

“Mako said I was being too mopey and went to hang out with a friend from j-tech.” He continued and scrunched his face up in confusion as if he couldn’t fathom where Mako had got that idea from. The kid could be so clueless sometimes Tendo mused. Raleigh’s look of confusion morphed into one of contemplation. “I think they might be dating.”

There was no thinking about it; if Raleigh was telling him about it then it was a sure thing. He and Mako were closer than ever these days. They spent so much time together and shared almost everything like close siblings or old friends who had known one another for years. Drifting with someone must do that to people Tendo guessed. Mako could never replace Yancy – and neither of them would have wanted that anyway – but she was doing a damn fine job of patching up the holes in Raleigh, and he was doing the same for her. Tendo was glad to see the spark return to his friend after all those years he spent out in the dark.

“Good for them. They’ve been keeping that one on the down low, but I kinda always suspected.” Tendo nodded to himself. “They make a good match.”

“Yeah.” Raleigh picked at his food some more before shooting a curious glance at him. “Anyway, I could say the same about you. Shouldn’t you be with Alison right now?”

“Clocking off in about an hour and heading straight home to her and the kid.” Tendo replied and then continued to pry. “Huh, I would have thought he’d at least given you your gift by now.”

Tendo winced at his slip up. So much for keeping the guy’s secret he thought, but he hadn’t gone to all that effort on Chuck’s behalf for nothing.

Raleigh didn’t seem to notice and just shrugged. “He’s not really the gift giving type. I wasn’t expecting some grand romantic gesture from him anyway. I mean, this is Chuck we’re talking about. He even made me promise not to do anything.”

Tendo frowned. Yeah, this _was_ Hansen they were talking about, but Chuck had come to him to get those sweets and Tendo could see what a monumental effort it was for the guy. But then he does a disappearing act on Rals without so much as lobbing the sweets at him and doing a runner in a typical Chuck Hansen fashion? Something wasn’t quite right about the whole ordeal.

Anyone could see that Raleigh was full of it. Despite his words Tendo could see that he had been holding out on some kind of hope, however little it may have been, that Chuck might have surprised him and done _something_.

He patted him on the shoulder as he rose from his seat. “There’s still time for the kid to surprise you.”

“Yeah, sure.” Raleigh mumbled, not sounding so sure at all.

Tendo’s heart went out to the guy. Chuck Hansen was no easy man to deal with and Tendo sometimes questioned the sanity of his friend on his choice in partners. But even he couldn’t deny the light in the other man’s eyes when he saw the two of them together. There was no denying that Mako had reignited the fire in Raleigh and got it burning strong again, but Chuck, well Chuck poured lighter fluid all over that fire and set him ablaze. Sure there was the danger of burning too hot and getting burned, but then Raleigh didn’t used to pilot a jaeger named Gipsy Danger for nothing. 

Tendo just shook his head and left Raleigh alone at the table. He had his own love life to get back to.

*

Raleigh found Chuck in his room when he eventually gave up waiting and left the cafeteria. To say he was surprised at finding Chuck casually lounging on his bed as usual was an understatement. After a day of Chuck being MIA the last place he expected to find him was in his room acting like nothing was up.  

“About bloody time.” Chuck looked up at him and dropped the book he had been skimming through. “Was gonna start looking for you if you took any longer.”

“Looking for _me_?” Raleigh asked incredulously. “ _You’re_ the one who’s not been around all day.”

Raleigh was seething. He’d respected Chuck’s wishes and hadn’t gone out of his way to arrange anything or get some kind of gift. They hadn’t been together all that long anyway; they had plenty of time to do all that stuff. He was more than happy to ease into things with Chuck because it was just the start of a long journey that they’d be taking together. All he’d wanted was to at least spend the day with him; maybe have dinner together or laze around enjoying each other’s company. Instead he woke up in an empty bed with not a single trace of Chuck all day. Surely he hadn’t been expecting too much?

Chuck shrugged and looked to the side. “Been busy.”

“You’ve been-” Raleigh’s jaw clenched. He knew he probably shouldn’t be as mad as was right then. Chuck was never one for holidays or remembering dates; he’d forgot his own birthday for crying out loud. Raleigh had only found out about it from Herc who had only mentioned it in passing on the actual day to wish his son a happy birthday and that was the end of it. He was astounded at the Hansen’s lack of normal human social skills sometimes, but he reminded himself that Chuck was a child of war and had disregarded that kind of stuff a long time ago. Still, his boyfriend’s lack of participation or acknowledgement of what he saw as normal social conventions still managed to surprise him from time to time. He had begun to understand Herc’s dilemma of never knowing whether to hug or kick Chuck sometimes. Although right then he was favouring one option over the other.

“An explanation would’ve been nice. A quick note or taking a second to say– What are you eating?”

Chuck’s jaw had been working the entire time, turning something over and over in his mouth and occasionally clacking it against his teeth, but it froze in place when Raleigh caught him in the act. He wanted to stay mad, he really did, but if Raleigh was honest with himself, it was a little…distracting.

Chuck sat up and shot a glance at the brown paper bag on the table beside the bed. “Nothing.”

He wasn’t quite sure why he was denying it now. He’d had this planned for a while, but when it came to it, with Raleigh standing there in front of him, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at admitting his plan out loud. It seemed so stupid and…childish. What the hell had he been thinking?

“Sure doesn’t look like nothing.” Raleigh was curious now. Normally he couldn’t have cared less, but seeing Chuck getting so defensive about it just raised his curiosity even more. What the hell could he possibly be hiding?

Chuck stuck his tongue out to reveal one of the sweets he had procured from Tendo like a kid who had been caught snacking on something he shouldn’t have.

Raleigh was getting more confused by the second. Chuck had disappeared on him for the entire day and now he’d shown up in his room as if nothing was wrong eating candies – his favourite kind at that. Chuck was impossible to figure out sometimes, but this was just…odd. Even for him. Raleigh found himself a little at a loss of what to say or do next.

“Mind if I have one?” He eventually asked.             

“No.” Chuck winced at his immediate response.

“Why not?” Raleigh frowned and reached for the bag, but Chuck snatched it up and held it away from him.

“Come on, just gimme one.” He climbed on the bed and attempted to reach over Chuck for the bag.

“Oi, piss off.” Chuck tried to move away but Raleigh was on top of him. He hadn’t anticipated this and tried to shove him off but Raleigh kept him pinned under him.

“Don’t be an asshole, Chuck. Come on, they’re my favourites-” Raleigh froze when he was in close enough proximity to smell Chuck’s breath. A strong, sweet aroma permeated his lips. How many of the things had he eaten?

Chuck swallowed at the intensity of Raleigh’s gaze. He forgot about the sweet when he did and almost choked on it. He opened his mouth but Raleigh cut him off and covered his mouth with his own. His tongue worked its way inside and Raleigh spent his time tasting and savouring every inch of Chuck’s mouth.

“You taste…” Raleigh was a little breathless when he pulled away. “…amazing.”

Chuck’s face reddened. “Yeah well…I was planning on giving these to you at first, but then I thought…” His face grew redder still.

Raleigh’s eyes fell to the bag and back up to Chuck and then it clicked.

“That is…” A wide, stupid grin spread across his face. “…the _sweetest_ thing.”

Chuck’s face was burning more than ever. “Fuck off.”

Raleigh kissed him again and couldn’t help but smile as he did. “I like the way you taste anytime.”

“You are such a dork.” Chuck pushed him off and rose from the bed.

“Hey, I’m not the one who tried to make my kisses taste sweeter.” Raleigh teased.

“Fuck you.” Chuck was really starting to regret this now. This was why he didn’t make the grand romantic gestures like Raleigh did. He just didn’t have it in him to put himself out there and expose himself to potential ridicule and embarrassment, or worse yet real fucking emotions. And Raleigh was being such a dick about it. Shit, was this how Raleigh felt when he did stuff like this for him and he brushed him off or made sarcastic comments to mask just how touched he really was because even now he could never allow himself to be that vulnerable with anyone? Chuck knew he was screwed up, but he was only just beginning to realise just how much, and it only managed to increase that embarrassment and frustration even more.

“Just forget it.” Chuck made to make an escape but Raleigh was quicker than him and wrapped his arms around his waist from behind and pulled him back against his chest. Chuck struggled to break free but Raleigh’s grip was firm. Of course it was, Chuck lamented, the guy was fucking ripped. This was probably one of the few occasions where he wasn’t enjoying that fact.

He relaxed when Raleigh buried his face against his neck and placed a soft kiss on it. Chuck reasoned it was out of defeat and not because of the comfort of Raleigh’s arms around him, or the tickle of his breath on his neck, or warmth of his lips on his skin. Definitely not any of those.

“I love the gesture. Really.” He murmured against his neck. “Thank you.”

Chuck just huffed in response.

Raleigh let go of him and snatched up one of the sweets that had spilled out from the bag onto the bed in their brief struggle. “Open your mouth.”

Chuck eyed him suspiciously. “Why..?”

Raleigh just rolled his eyes in response. “Just do it.”

Chuck gave in and opened his mouth, sticking his tongue out in defiance. Raleigh placed the sweet on his tongue and he sucked it back into his mouth.

“You know.” Chuck said, sliding the sweet around his mouth to talk properly. “I’m not actually as big a fan of these things as you are.”

“I know.” Raleigh replied with a grin. He grabbed Chuck’s face between his hands and kissed him long and hard. He slid his tongue into Chuck’s mouth and slipped the sweet out into his own.

“You know.” Raleigh mused, rolling the sweet over with his tongue. “I think they do taste better like this.”

Chuck grabbed a fistful of Raleigh’s shirt and pulled him into another kiss. He pulled back with a smirk and stuck his tongue out with the stolen sweet resting on the tip. He sucked it back in. “You’re not getting them all so easily.”

Chuck could tell from the look on his face that Raleigh liked where this was going.

“I’m willing to work for them.” He replied, and took a step forward and kissed Chuck again.

They had a long night ahead of them and the bag was still half full.

 


End file.
